August Wayne Booth/Pinocchio Character Analysis

[slurpeez108]

Eion Bailey on playing the mysterious stranger, August W. Booth:

Well, there's the new guy, a self-proclaimed writer named August W. Booth (Eion Bailey), who somehow made his way into the spellbound town. His first act was to get his hands on Henry's totemic book of fairy tales. Is he a magical force? Or maybe the book's author? Bailey is enigmatic: "What I can share is that August is central to the story from its origin. He has an awareness that helps him know things that other people in the story do not. And he helps Emma see beyond the tangible."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Once-Upon-Time-Set-1044486.aspx

[darcyfarrow]

Maybe he's the librarian

[41Rapunzel]

I've heard alot of theorys about August but the one i liked the best (and im sorry i dont know where i heard it) is that he is the writer od keeper of the book and hes there to help Emma make everyone see the truth of what/who they are.

[mia]

These are comments from the last podcast. Copied them here, because I think it's an interesting new theory.

StarryDreamer
Oh and there's no lemurs in Nepal!  They are found only in Madagascar. Suspicious! 

LakePrincess
I just want to add a tidbit that Eddy Kitsis mentioned in an interview (a few days ago.)  He said to pay close attention to the Lemurs at the beginning of the episode.  I searched Wikipedia and found a very interesting article. Most interesting is the varient of August's name included within. Something about wandering/vengeful spirits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...

Slurpeez108
That reference to lemures being restless spirits is fascinating! It's even more interesting that St. Augustine described them as evil manes who torment the living. Could August be the ghost of Rumple's son or some other departed soul haunting Regina? What I paid attention to was August's reference to their eyes that reflect light so they appear to glow at night. The reference to Nepal is also very interesting, which is where a lot of spiritual monks live.

August could be the Regina's love that was lost!! If he's a lost vengeful spirit. We don't yet know how she really lost her love. Maybe he's either trying to help people change their lives and thus breaking the curse to take "revenge" on Regina or doing it to help Regina get back her heart, to fill the void that's been created by the curse.

[rumplegoldfan]

Here's a quote from Wikipedia about lemurs. The use of the term "benefactor" and the mention of babies is a bit creepy.

"In Malagasy culture lemurs, and animals in general, have souls (ambiroa) which can get revenge if mocked while alive or if killed in a cruel fashion. Because of this, lemurs, like many other elements of daily life, have been a source of taboos, known locally as fady, which can be based around stories with four basic principles. A village or region may believe that a certain type of lemur may be the ancestor of the clan. They may also believe that a lemur's spirit may get revenge. Alternatively, the animal may appear as a benefactor. Lemurs are also thought to impart their qualities, good or bad, onto human babies.[149] In general, fady extend beyond a sense of the forbidden, but can include events that bring bad luck.[75]"

There was also a general comment at the beginning of the article that some of the Malagasy people believed lemurs are the souls of their ancestors. No where in the very long article does it mention that lemurs are found in Nepal. This is interesting since August said that he does not lie. Was he really in Nepal or did he lie? What is significant about Nepal?

[slurpeez108]

@ mia: You wrote, "August could be the Regina's love that was lost!!" I will add that Regina said to Emma that he seemed familiar when he first arrived in town. Coincidence?

Here is some information regarding August from an interview with Eddy Kitsis:

Heck, they won’t even say if he’s genuinely crushing on Emma. “He seems to be operating on an agenda,” notes EP Eddy Kitsis, “so the interesting thing is to ask is whether those feelings are real or not.” Kitsis will confirm this much, though – August did in fact add pages to Henry’s storybook, “for a very, very specific reason.” (And I myself will offer this one piece of intel regarding August’s trustworthiness: In the diner scene of this Sunday’s episode, pay close attention to the lemurs.)

http://www.examiner.com/once-upon-a-time-in-national/once-upon-a-time-spoiler-round-up-creators-and-cast-hint-at-future-episodes#ixzz1oz3IRb4u

Also, we know August is a writer. We saw him adding pages to Henry's book. Also, August told Emma he was in town with his typewriter to get inspiration. Could he be getting back at Regina for something? His reference to lemurs, which were said to be vengeful spirits, is a huge clue.

[rumplegoldfan]

The quote above from Kitsis is interesting. I think the thing he is trying to point out is that August said that he saw the lemurs in Nepal. From everything I read, lemurs are NOT found in Nepal.

[hjbau]

So let's say that is true. That August is lying about the lemurs. Why? Why would he do that? Does that mean he has never be out of town and is just pretending to be from out of town? Or is he trying to gauge Red's reaction to that comment? Or are they just saying August is a liar and that's it?

[slurpeez108]

Either Kitsis wants us to pay attention to the fact that August was lying about lemurs in Nepal or the writers of episode 15 just got that fact wrong. They wrote lemurs, but really meant monkeys. There is an ancient religious "monkey temple" in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal called Swayambhunath. It's probably the the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrim sites and is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. It's sometimes called the "monkey temple" as there are holy monkeys living in parts of the temple in the north-west. You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swayambhunath

August strikes me as a spiritual kind of guy. He mentioned the temples of Nepal that are central to the Buddhist and Hindu faiths. Also, he said to Emma in episode 13 that water is revered all over the world in many different faiths. He said, "Water is a very powerful thing. Cultures as old as time have worshiped it. It flows throughout all lands connecting the entire world. If anything had mystical properties, if anything had magic, well I'd say it'd be water." Perhaps August is not a vengeful spirit, but a wandering soul. He travels all over the world writing about experiences. It's very intriguing.

[obisgirl]

I've heard a lot of theories about August but the one i liked the best (and im sorry i don't know where i heard it) is that he is the writer of keeper of the book and he's there to help Emma make everyone see the truth of what/who they are.

that's probably about right. it makes sense, considering their banter by the Well in 'What Happened to Frederick.'

So let's say that is true. That August is lying about the lemurs. Why? Why would he do that? Does that mean he has never be out of town and is just pretending to be from out of town? Or is he trying to gauge Red's reaction to that comment? Or are they just saying August is a liar and that's it?

August, or maybe the writers, could also be really bad at geography.